


Welcome to Orange County

by calaverita



Category: Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: Aquariums, Canon Universe, Dating, Developing Relationship, Fluff, Genyatta Zine, Light-Hearted, M/M, Mentioned Jesse McCree, Morning Cuddles, Theme park date, Trans Genji Shimada, Vacation, Zine
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-05
Updated: 2018-06-05
Packaged: 2019-05-18 17:29:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,074
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14857067
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/calaverita/pseuds/calaverita
Summary: “Would you like to play some skeeball?” Zenyatta suggested, approaching one of the machines.Genji crossed his arms as he trailed after him. “We both know who’d win.”“Yes, and still I ask you: would you like to play some skeeball?”My piece for the Genyatta Zine Vol. 2 in which Genji and Zenyatta go to BlizzardWorld on vacation! Enjoy!





	Welcome to Orange County

Zenyatta pressed his face into Genji’s chest and hummed softly. In return, his boyfriend let out a contented sigh in his sleep. The monk’s internal clock agreed with the one on their nightstand–7:49 in the morning. Outside, he could hear sprinklers sputtering on the hotel grass. 

When he tried to let go of Genji and roll out of bed, the cyborg stubbornly pulled him closer. 

“Genji,” Zenyatta whispered. 

“Mm.” 

“I have to get up.” 

“Uh-uh.” 

“Please?” 

Genji wrapped a leg over Zenyatta’s pajamaed hip and let out a vehement “Hmph.” 

Zenyatta ruffled his messy hair and twirled it around his slender metal fingers, appreciating the occasional greying strands. The cyborg’s chapped lips trailed lazily over his softly glowing jieba, determined to keep him from getting out of bed. “Genji… my love, my light,” he cooed. How could he make a surprise breakfast for him like this? A few minutes later, when Genji had fallen back asleep in his arms, Zenyatta carefully moved his boyfriend’s leg off his waist and rolled out of bed with a thump. They had arrived the afternoon before at John Wayne Airport–twelve hours and forty-five minutes behind Nepal. Zenyatta had surprised Genji with the trip a few weeks before and since then, the cyborg had done nothing but enthuse over the park. But he needed his rest, so Zenyatta resolved to make him breakfast in bed as quietly as possible. 

The suite Zenyatta had booked came with a small kitchen and a veranda that overlooked a driving range a few miles from the park. Slippers on, he headed to the kitchen and opened up the refrigerator. He thanked his own foresightedness for ordering a fully-stocked fridge in advance as he pulled out ingredients and set them on the counter: a small container of miso paste, a block of tofu, and green onion. Once he had a pot of water with some nori simmering on the electric stove, Zenyatta scooped a spoonful of miso paste into a bowl and whisked it with hot water to keep it from clumping. After adding the miso to the pot, he cubed the tofu and chopped the green onions with precise motions that he tried his best to keep quiet so as to not wake Genji in the other room. Before he had finished putting the last of the ingredients in the pot, he felt two arms wrap around him from behind. 

“Very stealthy,” Zenyatta teased as Genji pressed sleepy kisses into the back of his oversized shirt. They stood there in silence for a moment, Genji moving his hands down to rest on Zenyatta’s waist and gently rock them both back and forth. “Did you sleep well?” He felt the motion of a shrug brush against his back. 

“It’s so early. Is that for me?” Genji leaned over his shoulder to inspect the soup on the stove. 

“No, it’s for me,” Zenyatta deadpanned as he switched off the stove and turned around to face Genji. 

“Aw, babe, you made me breakfast?” Genji cupped the metal of Zenyatta’s cheeks as he leaned in for another kiss, grateful that Zenyatta could not smell his morning breath. 

“It was going to be a surprise, but. Yes. Let me get you a bowl–” 

Before the omnic could move, Genji pressed his scarred cheek to the coolth of Zenyatta’s metal face and murmured, “I love you.” 

Zenyatta did not expect the declaration–of course, they had said it to each other before countless times, but he still enjoyed being surprised by the occasional “I love you” over the smallest, most seemingly mundane things. He leaned into Genji’s touch and wrapped his arms around his shoulders. “I love you, too.” 

Arriving at the theme park that early spring morning had proven no humble task: every tentative visitor to BlizzardWorld all seemed to have gotten the same idea about arriving right as the gates opened. The night before, the two of them had cuddled together under the covers to make their game plan for the following day. 

“Which attraction should we try first?” Genji asked. 

“Hmm.” Zenyatta pondered silently for a moment, then answered, “Ghost Academy.” 

“Gh-Ghost Academy?”

“Yes. I would like to learn how to be a ghost.” Genji groaned, “Never mind, vacation cancelled.” He pressed his cheek to the smooth metal on top of Zenyatta’s head and mused, “I don’t think that’s what Ghost Academy is but, sure, let’s visit that.” With that, he dropped a pin over the attraction on the holo-screen map. Zenyatta tapped the attraction on the screen. “It looks like that may be a walkthrough–why don’t we try Flight to Duskwood! I distinctly remember McCree enjoyed that one when he visited for his blog.” 

“He absolutely did not, but let’s put a pin in it!” 

“What about the parades? And the fireworks?” Zenyatta rested his hand on Genji’s chest, drawing circles into the grey fabric of his pullover. 

“Those happen later in the day. If we maximize our park time, we can hit up the busiest rides during the evening parade.” 

“Do you not want to see it?” Zenyatta sounded deflated. 

“I–well...” Genji hesitated. He had never felt any particular fondness for parades, and fireworks made him anxious. “Parades are okay, I guess.” 

“We don’t have to stay for the fireworks if it would be too much for you. It looks like the parade has two showtimes–perhaps we can see the earlier one and go on rides during the later one?” Zenyatta asked hopefully. 

“I brought my noise cancelling earbuds for the flight, so I should be alright during the fireworks.” 

“If you want to come back early, we can.” 

“I know, honey, I know,” Genji assured him. 

“Is everything alright?” Zenyatta looked up and hooked a finger under Genji’s metal jaw, a note of concern in his modulated voice. 

“I want us to be able to go on every ride.” Genji felt very small in that moment, like a child eager to do everything at once. Zenyatta moved his hand up to brush a thumb over the scars on Genji’s cheek.

“I understand. Let us stick to your schedule but leave some free time in as well. We do have more than one day here, after all.” 

They had both dressed comfortably for their park visit: Genji donned a magenta baseball jacket and a silk pink ribbon, while Zenyatta had thrown on a long chiffon cardigan patterned with spring florals. During their trip on the Deeprun Tram to the park, a baby in a stroller gave Zenyatta a flower, which he wrapped around his pinky finger after thanking the baby. Once they hopped off the tram at the front of the park, Genji and Zenyatta walked arm-in-arm to one of the open ticket windows. The Omnic working behind the counter greeted them with a wave. “Welcome to BlizzardWorld! How can I assist you today?”

“Greetings!” Zenyatta said. “We would like to pick up our reserved tickets.” 

“Great, do you have your confirmation numbers ready?” 

“Oh–yes, one moment.” Zenyatta unzipped the fanny pack around his waist and shuffled past the granola bars he had put in there for Genji until he found his holo-phone. After showing the confirmation numbers to the attendant, they pulled out two wristbands from a drawer under the counter, scanned them, and handed them to Zenyatta and Genji. 

“How is your visit to Irvine so far?” They asked the couple. 

“Well, I have never seen this many shopping malls in one city before,” Zenyatta chuckled while fastening his wristband. “Or houses that all look so strikingly similar.” 

“Welcome to Orange County,” the Omnic chuckled. “Oh! If this is your first visit, here are some pins!” They pulled out two “My First Visit!” buttons for Zenyatta and Genji, who then pinned the buttons on the left and right sides of their respective outfits. “You’re all set–the wristbands are linked with your resort accounts, so things like maps, tickets, and any reservations you have are stored on there. Is there anything else I can help you with?” Genji and Zenyatta looked at each other to check, then both turned back to the attendant and shook their heads. “No, thank you,” Genji said. 

“You’re welcome! Enjoy your visit.” Zenyatta navigated through the wristband menu to materialize a map as they walked away from the ticket window. “What should we try first?”

“Do you want to go to the arcade? I could go for some air hockey.”

“Heroes Arcade it is,” Zenyatta agreed. Another group had already taken the air hockey tables when they arrived, leaving the couple a few other options.

“Would you like to play some skeeball?” Zenyatta suggested, approaching one of the machines.

Genji crossed his arms as he trailed after him. “We both know who’d win.” 

“Yes, and still I ask you: would you like to play some skeeball?”

Genji snorted and leaned down to purchase a game by brushing his wristband against the machine while Zenyatta followed suit at the one next to him. “It’s on.” Nine balls rolled into their respective queues with a clunk. Genji picked up the one closest to him and eyed the targets. With a flick of the wrist, Zenyatta launched the orbs up the ramp and into the targets, picking up one after the other while Genji could only look on in awe. In the next game they chose, Azm Dunk, Genji excelled–his time on Blackwatch drop ships playing shootout and H-O-R-S-E was now worth every instance in which he had to hear Commander Reyes dunk and gloat, “Buckets,” “Charrrrles Barkley!,” and “Kobe, eat your heart out.”

The summer heat drew crowds to the waterpark in the southeast, but left the line for the log flume ride surprisingly empty. Once they reached the front of the queue, Zenyatta hopped down into the first row of the log, Genji took the second, and another couple sat down in the last two rows. As the log began to float down the flume, a voice over the ride’s PA system advised, “For your safety, please keep your hands, arms, and legs inside the vehicle at all times, and be sure to watch your kids!” In the front row, Zenyatta materialized eight orange arms and tucked them neatly into the ride.

“Oh, my god,” Genji muttered softly. He loved him so much.

During a lull in the ride after the third drop and before the last, Genji tapped Zenyatta on the shoulder. “Hey, what are we doing for the splash photo? I’m pretty sure this ride has one.” 

“About that… There’s something I need you to do for me.” 

“Uh, sure? What’s wrong?” Genji put a hand on his boyfriend’s shoulder. 

“I need you to hold this for me.” From in his apparently bottomless fanny pack, Zenyatta pulled out a glued-together jenga set along with a few discrete blocks. “Take some of the loose pieces and I’ll hold the set.” 

“Babe, where were you keeping this? When did you get glue?” Genji sounded simultaneously impressed and concerned as he looked at his boyfriend sitting in the row in front of him. The treads pulled their log slowly out of the flume, each tick pushing them closer and closer to oblivion.

“I have my ways,” He answered enigmatically. 

“No, seriously, how–” 

“We must hurry, the splash camera is coming up!” 

“BABE–” Genji leaned closer to him to pose as if in the middle of removing a piece from the jenga set. They both let out a scream when the log slid down the steep slope and splashed into the flume below, spraying them and the other riders with musty water.

While waiting in line for Reign of the Black King, Deckard Cain’s disembodied voice began speaking out of a large tome glued to a table. “I sense a soul in search of… refreshment! At Adria’s Potions and Other Sundries.” Genji crossed his arms and huffed, “…Dammit, he’s right.”

“Hm?” Zenyatta looked up from the projection on his wristband.

“I’m… thirsty.” He hunched over and leaned his forehead against Zenyatta’s shoulder, who rested a hand on his back. “I can get you a water bottle from outside if you’d like,” Zenyatta suggested. Genji shook his head and assured, “I’ll be fine–we’re almost to the front.” After the ride, they took a meal break at the nearby Pylon Terrace. Genji made a mess on the bib of napkins he assembled over his jacket to eat the death wings he ordered. Hands covered in death sauce, he polished off the meal with celery and ranch to cut the heat. “You missed a spot,” Zenyatta chuckled, reaching out to scrape his thumb over the wing sauce on the corner of Genji’s mouth.

High above Genji and Zenyatta towered Tyrael’s Fall, a drop ride designed after Tyrael’s sword El’druin. “You’re fine with heights, right?” Just as Genji asked, the screams of six people began to crescendo down towards them. Zenyatta shrugged nonchalantly, “I lived on a mountain for over a decade, I think I will be alright. After all, I’ll be with you.”

“Aww, babe,” Genji grinned, blushing and pressing a kiss to his jieba. Once they had gotten on the drop ride, Zenyatta let out a premature gasp as they rose up from the ground. Genji reached from under his shoulder harness to take Zenyatta’s hand in his own, rubbing his thumb over the metal near his wrist. In reassurance, Zenyatta moved one of his dangling legs closer to brush up against Genji’s.

At the Hatchery Petting Zoo, Zenyatta found himself surrounded by a flock of baby chicks. “How does this always happen,” he wondered aloud. One of the hatchlings climbed onto his shoe and began to vigorously peck at his shin. Genji made sure to take plenty of pictures. “Hmm,” he sighed, holding a chick in each of his eight hands.

“Is something on your mind?” Genji looked up from the camera on his phone.

“I’d like to visit the aquarium.” Zenyatta confessed. 

“Aquarium?” Genji frowned. “I didn’t see that on the map.” 

“The Moonwell houses an aquarium underground!” he explained. “Shall we visit that next?”

“Yeah, sure!” Once Zenyatta had set all of the hatchlings back down, he took Genji’s hand to lead him to the front of the park and back up to the Moonwell. The cerulean florescence of the water beneath the Moonwell reflected on every surface in the aquarium, giving both Genji and Zenyatta a faint luminescent glow. Seeking privacy away from the small crowd in the exhibit, they took a moment of respite in one of the circular alcoves housing a large porthole. “We ought to go to an actual aquarium some time,” Zenyatta suggested, resting his cheek on Genji’s shoulder.

“Sounds good to me, chickadee,” Genji smiled, kissing Zenyatta where brass met silver in the middle of his face. Zenyatta returned the gesture with a few gentle shocks, finger trailing along Genji’s metal jaw. The cyborg sighed contentedly, looking forward to later when they would have some actual alone time. Genji pulled back from the kiss. “Hey, we should take a selfie here with the fish!” He took out his phone and held it in his left hand, wrapping his other arm around Zenyatta with a grin. Right as the lens made a shutter noise, a manta ray swam up behind the two of them and pressed itself against the glass. When Genji checked his camera roll to look at the burst of photos, he let out a gasp. “What! What is it?” Zenyatta asked.

“Look, oh my god, look,” Genji whispered, trying to hold in a laugh as he pointed to the small screen. Behind their heads in the photo, a manta ray floated flush against the glass, its face looking like a smile on a pancake. They turned to find that the ray had stayed in the exact same place. “You know, its face looks a lot like yours,” Genji noted.

“The spitting image,” Zenyatta laughed. After taking a few more photos of the fish around the aquarium, they wandered back up to the surface and towards the WoW section of the park. Zenyatta insisted they purchase hats as memorabilia, which Genji promised they would do before leaving for the day. “Which do you think looks best? The Tauren horns, Leoric’s crown, or the Murloc?” Zenyatta had tried each hat on one at a time, waiting for his boyfriend to give an opinion. “The crown is fit for a king,” Genji grinned. “The Murloc hat is… a little unnerving.” The arms of the green amphibian reached down to function as straps for the wearer, its legs kneeled on either side of Zenyatta’s head. “But you look cute in anything, so.” Zenyatta’s neck fans whirred. “Perhaps the crown,” Zenyatta decided. Suddenly, something outside boomed, making Genji jump. “Are you alright?” Zenyatta quickly brought a hand up to his bicep and gave it a comforting squeeze.

“Just startled, is all. You wanted to see the fireworks, right?” Zenyatta perked up at the question.

“Let us make our purchases first.”

Outside, the fireworks show had kicked off with an accompanying medley of music from Blizzard games. Zenyatta led Genji to an open space in the crowd once Genji had put on his earbuds to minimize the noise, setting their bags down and wrapping his arms over Genji’s shoulders. Above them, fireworks shaped like Hearthstone runes and Zerg emblems crackled through the sky. Genji cupped Zenyatta’s face, admiring the way fireworks cast colorful reflections over the curvature of his metal and the glow of his jieba. “Hey.”

“Mm?” Zenyatta tilted his head curiously, fingers messing with the cropped hair above Genji’s neck.

Genji leaned in, close enough for his voice to gently flutter against Zenyatta’s mouth. “I love you, honey.”

“I love you too, dearest.” Zenyatta pressed a spark of a kiss to his chapped lips.

The tram ride back was quiet, sleepy, even. At their feet sat a few bags of merchandise from the park: gifts for friends, for themselves, for each other. “I had fun today,” Zenyatta murmured against Genji’s jacketed shoulder.

“Yeah, me too.” Genji reached over to cup the monk’s cheek and kiss the top of his head.

“Ready to go again tomorrow?”

“Give me a chance to rest my legs a little, at least,” Genji giggled.

“I have some ideas for how we might do that.” Zenyatta’s voice lilted coyly.

“Oh? Enlighten me.”

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! This was inspired by my time at Disney World with my partner last May. Here's the piece by Novalillies that accompanies the fic: http://novalillies.tumblr.com/post/174486075813


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